LGBTQ Lawyers Expand Presence at NYSBA

LGBTQ Lawyers Expand Presence at NYSBA

1.28.2021

By Brendan Kennedy

The New York State Bar Association’s new LGBTQ Law Section held a meet and greet on Jan. 25 during the NYSBA Annual Meeting, virtually bringing together nearly 100 of the section’s 250 members.

Christopher R. Riano, chair of the section, thanked the LGBTQ and ally community for embracing NYSBA’s new section.

“For so long there have been many lawyers that have wanted to plug into this cause but there really has never been a statewide home for the LGBTQ community that can grow the way a section can,” Riano said.

Riano acknowledged that the work done by the committee over the past decade is directly responsible for the astounding numbers of NYSBA members that have joined the section in the past month.

“It is with the LGBTQ community and our allies that we can continue to grow and continue to have an impact,” said Riano. “Especially since we’re the New York State Bar Association, we know we can have an impact in New York and beyond.”

Riano also announced the six committees that the section has and introduced members to four of them.

Samuel W. Buchbauer will chair the membership committee. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University College of Law.

Jackie J. Drohan will chair the litigation and amicus committee. She is a partner at Drohan Lee, practicing in the areas of commodities and investment advisory law and regulation, including derivatives transactions, domestic and offshore hedge fund formation, and investment due diligence. She has served as special counsel to the firm’s litigation group in complex securities and derivatives arbitration and litigation matters, including federal appellate advocacy.

Richard Saenz will chair the programming committee. He is a senior attorney at Lambda Legal where he also serves as criminal justice and police misconduct strategist.

Ryan R. Thoreson will chair the reports and publications committee. He is a clinical lecturer in law, an associate research scholar in law, and the Robert M. Cover-Allard K. Lowenstein Fellow in International Human Rights at Yale Law School.